Feature/Profiles

Berrys Are Leaders in Lifetime Giving to NMU

John and Shirley Berry (left) with Kristin and Brock Tessman, NMU's president, in the Northern Center
Jan. 27, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University alumnus John Berry Jr. has continued the philanthropic legacy passed down by his grandfather and father, whose entrepreneurial success heading the largest Yellow Pages advertising agency in the United States inspired them to give back to future generations in ways that reflected their core values, including education. John and Shirley Berry have become the leaders in lifetime giving to NMU, surpassing $10 million. Their most recent gifts of $3.5 million include $2 million to endow in perpetuity the College of Business Deanship in their names, and $1 million as an expendable fund to support the Northern Enterprise Center, the future home of the College of Business.

Commencement Speaker Follows Parents into Nursing

Guinn in the Nursing Technology Center, where she spent much of her time.
Dec. 6, 2024 —
Suzanna Guinn of Marquette said she considers nursing the “Swiss army knife” of undergraduate degrees, both for the skills and knowledge it encompasses and the wide range of career opportunities and potential work settings. Her academic major was inspired in part by her parents' experience in the field. They will no doubt be watching with pride as she delivers the student commencement address at NMU's Dec. 14 ceremony.

Prof Writes Book on Mental Illness Portrayals

Richmond
Feb. 27, 2019 —
Mental illness affects about one in five American teens. This is increasingly reflected in young adult fiction, as recent surveys indicate one quarter of the genre's titles feature characters with psychological disorders. Northern Michigan University English Professor Kia Jane Richmond has published a new book that explores how real struggles such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder are portrayed through fictional characters. Her hope is that Mental Illness in Young Adult Literature will help educators, librarians and mental health professionals to more effectively address the needs of students.

NMU Grad Defies the Odds to Earn Degree

Travis Thetford
Dec. 19, 2018 —

Eleven years after a stranger savagely beat him with a pool stick outside a bar and left him for dead, Travis Thetford crossed the NMU commencement stage in his wheelchair Dec. 15 to accept his diploma. The former star athlete at Escanaba High School suffered a traumatic brain injury and left-side paralysis in the wake of the attack. He has since inspired many with his perseverance and positive attitude in tackling adversity.

NMU Program Earns Innovation Award

Lubig with the award
Nov. 15, 2018 —

Northern Michigan University’s bachelor of science degree in applied workplace leadership received the 2018 Innovation in Transfer Award today at the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO) annual conference in Frankenmuth. The online program enables individuals holding an associate of applied science degree from any community college to ladder to a bachelor’s degree that will qualify them for management positions.

FROST Aids Evidence Tech Training

FROST training
Oct. 18, 2018 —

The NMU Public Safety Institute conducts annual training for evidence technicians, alternating between an intensive two-week basic course one year and a series of two-day refreshers the next. The refreshers being held on campus this month focus on death investigations because the institute partnered with NMU’s Forensic Research Outdoor Station (FROST) and Forensic Anthropology Research Laboratory. Both locations offer hands-on training to complement the classroom instruction provided with support from the Michigan State Police.

Detroit Students Aim North

Future NMU student planting a garden
Oct. 3, 2018 —
Graduating high school seniors in Detroit were able to get a head start on college before leaving their hometown through Aim North, a pilot program offered through Northern Michigan University’s Diversity and Inclusion Office. Students could take two summer courses, earning up to eight credits toward the liberal studies requirements for a degree prior to enrolling at NMU or another institution this fall.

Johnson Interviews Education Pioneers

NMU history professor Kathryn Johnson
May. 16, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University history professor Kathryn Johnson has conducted four oral history interviews with global pioneers in open, distance and digital education. They include Professor Asha Kanwar, former president of the Commonwealth of Learning,; Professor Alejandro Pisanty, a Mexican scholar and early advocate for educational technology; Dr. Tony Bates, whom she describes as one of “the godfathers of distance education in Canada”; and Professor Rosibel Vicquez Abarca, a prominent leader in the field in Costa Rica. All will soon be published in scholarly journals, including one for which Johnson serves as the oral history section editor.

Brito is Student Commencement Speaker

Rosalva Brito, student commencement speaker
Apr. 14, 2025 —
Rosalva Brito, a criminal justice major and Spanish minor from Chicago, will be the student speaker at Northern Michigan University's May 3 commencement. The first-generation student said she chose to attend NMU primarily because of scholarships she qualified for as the dependent of a veteran that made the cost more affordable, and because of its safe, friendly and beautiful environment.